Man shoots wife, barricades himself

Tuesday

Mar 13, 2012 at 6:14 AMMar 15, 2012 at 5:36 AM

Beatriz E. Valenzuela, Staff Writer

VICTORVILLE • A Victorville man was airlifted to a trauma center after allegedly shooting his wife early Tuesday morning and then barricading himself in his home for more than five hours as the San Bernardino County Sheriff's SWAT Team tried negotiating with him, officials said.

Sammie Walton, 54, of Victorville, was arrested for attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer, according to sheriff's officials.

Walton was airlifted to Antelope Valley Hospital after he was shot in the upper body by sheriff's officials when Walton allegedly pointed a handgun at them.

His wife, 60, was taken to an area hospital and is expected to survive.

Despite the use of tear gas and SWAT's BearCat, an armored vehicle, to try to get Walton out of his home in the 14500 block of Polo Court in Brentwood, he refused to surrender for several hours.

A little before 4 a.m., authorities received a 911 call about a shooting on Polo Court in Brentwood, said Lt. Leland Boldt with the Victorville station.

Once officials arrived on scene, they found a woman with two gunshot wounds to her lower body. She said her husband had shot her and he was still inside their home with a gun, Boldt said.

After assessing the threat, SWAT was called in and the surrounding neighborhood was evacuated, according to Boldt.

Aaliyah Hassan, who lives near the location, was able to take her child to Brentwood Elementary, but when she returned she found herself outside the Sheriff's Department's perimeter.

"I didn't even know this was going on," she said. "This is crazy."

Authorities were able to negotiate with Walton, but he abruptly stopped talking with sheriff's officials, Boldt said.

Authorities used the BearCat to pull out the windows on the second story of the home and part of a wall.

At about 9:40 a.m., sounds that appeared to be gunfire could be heard throughout the neighborhood. Walton surrendered soon after.

It's unclear what sparked the violent attack.

Residents were allowed to return to their homes shortly after Walton was removed from the scene.

Since this was an officer involved shooting, sheriff's homicide detectives will be conducting an investigation into the incident. Anyone with information on this case is asked to call Detective Randy German or Sgt. Brad Toms at (909) 387-3589 or call WeTip at (800) 78-CRIME.

Beatriz E. Valenzuela may be reached at (760) 951-6276 or at BValenzuela@VVDailyPress.com.

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